Features of the week
Tiny HousesOutdoors
Affordable tiny house hits sweet spot for family living
by Adam Williams
Fitting in a small family without sacrificing portability is a challenge, but this tiny house strikes a good balance. It features two bedrooms, including one on the ground floor, while remaining relatively affordable.
MaterialsEngineering
Plastic-free vegan leather sees production-scale breakthrough
by Maryna Holovnova
Scientists have been searching for alternatives to animal leather, and mushrooms might be one of the most promising options. Finnish researchers have taken another step toward bringing mushroom-based leather bags and shoes to store shelves.
Camping TrailersAdventure VehiclesOutdoors
Cubic camper trailer gets vertical to maximize post-adventure living
by C.C. Weiss
For years, SylvanSport specialized in skeletal tent trailers. Then it leaped straight to launching one of the boldest, boxiest campers of its class. Now it's circling back to fill in some of the space in between with the new Vire adventure trailer.
AI and HumanoidsTechnology
Humanoid 'Olympics' reveal why the US can't compete with China's robots
by Bronwyn Thompson
As the World Humanoid Robot Games got under way, the sprinters quickly made headlines. But away from the track, a different story is being told. It's a revealing glimpse into China's AI and robotics world, where collaboration, not competition, is key.
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The Kingbull Rover 2.0 Has a Day Job – and a Weekend One
Built for rough streets during the week and off-road escapes on weekends, the Kingbull Rover 2.0 combines full suspension, fat tires, a 750W Bafang motor, and a 720Wh battery in one versatile $1,199 e-bike.
Top Stories: Transport
World-first eVTOL vertiport gets the green light
by Etiido Uko
Ever been stuck in traffic and wished you could simply fly above it all, straight to your destination? Well, that dream is one step closer to reality, as the world's first airport for flying taxis has just received regulatory approval.
Yamaha brings its smallest roadster to the West
by Utkarsh Sood
The XSR 700 and 900 are brilliant motorcycles that most people can ride practically anywhere and have a ball. They offer something for modern motorcycle enthusiasts plus authentic retro style. That sums up why the entry-level XSR155 is headed to the US.
Aston Martin's Valen is the most powerful front-engined supercar ever
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
Aston Martin's latest offering presents a radical departure from its usual design direction. If you like your cars burly and mean, you'll dig the Valen. It's also plenty fast.
Fast-fold mini e-scooter powers a smooth urban commute
by Simon Heptinstall
Chinese mini-transport engineering company Blizwheel has spent years evolving lightweight electric scooters that fold like origami to become small enough to vanish inside a standard backpack. Its latest version is perhaps the best yet.
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Top stories: Body & Mind
FDA approves first Alzheimer's blood test for Americans as young as 40
by Bronwyn Thompson
In a move that could drastically help slow the progression of Alzheimer's Disease (AD), the FDA has cleared C2N Diagnostics' PrecivityAD2 blood test for patients as young as 40 years who have shown potential cognitive symptoms of the condition.
A ‘living GLP-1 drug’ could revolutionize diabetes treatment
by Mike McRae
Bacteria engineered to sense and reduce glucose levels could be the future of type 2 diabetes treatments, following pre-clinical trials. If successful, genetically enhanced gut bacteria could completely change how we treat type 2 diabetes
Broccoli for women, beans for men? Study reveals sex split over healthy diets
by Paul McClure
A new study has found that eating more legumes was associated with better cardiometabolic health in young men, while cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower were the prime choice of vegetable for young women.
A higher BMI may help you live longer in later years – but there's a catch
by Mike McRae
The results of a recently published longitudinal study conducted by researchers from the University of Rhode Island in the US found that a higher body mass index among US adults over the age of 65 years was linked with a lower risk of death.
Top Stories: Outdoor
Plug-n-play US camper pod turns a bare van into a homey RV in 1 hour
by C.C. Weiss
I want the camper van ... but without tying myself to one van. That's essentially what Hunker sells with its new slide-in camper box. An all-in-one camper floor plan on roller skates, the Hunker Pod turns an empty Ram van into an inviting camper van.
Top 10 tiny houses that showcase the extremes of small living
by Adam Williams
Tiny houses come in all shapes and sizes nowadays. Some push toward the upper limits of what can reasonably be considered a portable home, while others embrace extreme downsizing. Here are 10 of our favorites from both ends of the spectrum.
World's first laser-beam mosquito shooter is now available to buy
by Bronwyn Thompson
This personal air defense system that tracks and shoots mosquitoes with a blue laser is officially available now. The runaway crowdfunding hit has been scaled up by its makers and is available for preorder from the company Photon Matrix's website.
Tiny titanium keyring puts a versatile toolkit in your pocket
by Abhimanyu Ghoshal
This new piece of EDC gear we've spotted looks like a handy little screwdriver with bit storage. However, it serves two additional functions beyond fastening that make it practical for more than just DIY projects and repairs.
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Top Stories: Technology
Tiny turtles to cuttlefish combat: 2026 photo winners revealed
by Bronwyn Thompson
It's that time of the year again – when nature photo competition winners are announced and we get to look at some amazing images that remind us that the world is made up of more than AI slop. For now, anyway.
Blu-ray burner doubles as USB hub and card reader
by Monica J. White
Modern laptops are the thinnest they’ve ever been. But this sleek form factor has a cost: optical drives, full-size USB ports and card readers are all-but extinct. BluHub is aiming to restore this lost connectivity via a single box.
Claude will now watermark all content generated using its tools
by Etiido Uko
AI-generated content, which has proliferated the internet, has become so good that it's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish, raising transparency and security concerns. To address this, Claude has begun marking its output for detection.
USA finally gets the modular smartphone owners can repair themselves
by Monica J. White
The Fairphone 6+ is the first of the brand's repairable, sustainable handsets to arrive officially in the US, pairing a modest spec bump with 12 GB of RAM, an eight-year software promise, and parts you can swap yourself with one screwdriver.
Top Stories: Science
Purple is the new white for ‘cool’ summer fashion
by Mike McRae
A breakthrough by researchers from Zhengzhou University, Adelaide University, the University of South Australia, and Central China Normal University could help you chill out when the temperatures peak without compromising style.
Secrets of mysterious 17th-century Polish ‘vampire’ have finally come to light
by Mike McRae
When a 17th-century woman’s bones were discovered with such odd accoutrements as part of her burial in a Polish cemetery, archeologists knew they had stumbled across something a little different. Their findings are even more fascinating.
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